1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a latching mechanism for electrical overload-protection switches, and in particular to a latching mechanism for a motor protection circuit breaker. More particularly, the present invention relates to a latching mechanism for a motor protection circuit breaker in which the latching mechanism latches a manual actuator in a tripped position and includes a mechanism that transmits a tripped-message to an auxiliary switch.
2. Description of Related Art
EP-B1-0612089 describes a switching device for circuit breakers. The most important actuating elements of the switching device consist of a manual actuator that is actively connected to a switch lock and a toggle lever that can be tensioned by the manual actuator. The toggle lever can be tripped either by the manual actuator itself or through thermal or magnetic tripping devices by buckling. On the switching device, a mechanism is provided that transmits a tripped-message to an auxiliary switch. A resetting spring provided for the manual actuator also acts upon the toggle lever and thus affects the release forces of the switching device. Because the resetting spring acts upon the toggle lever, the increased resetting force that is required for a gate coupling drive cannot be achieved with out special measures. In addition, the assembly of the switching device is difficult because of its many joints, especially if the switching device is to be assembled in a fully automatic fashion.